Thursday, January 12, 2012

Scottsdale's 5th and Wine warms my GF heart

One of my favorite places in the heart of downtown Scottsdale has to be 5th and Wine, a restaurant/wine bar with a comfortable atmosphere and a GF/vegetarian salad I keep coming back for again and again. Not only do they have an extensive wine list, there is a lovely patio in the heart of the arts district with live music and comfy seats that create the perfect conversation areas. Inside there are soft, leather cushy chairs just meant for chatting and relaxing over a glass of wine and house-marinated olives.

5th and Wine's Yummy Veggie Salad

First on the menu is the Veggie salad filled with avocado, white and green beans, grape tomatoes, jicama, and mozzarella tossed with a light herb vinaigrette. The dressing doesn't overpower the salad, which is light, fresh and filling. You can even order half a salad if you're not that hungry, but trust me, you'll want more.

The Strawberry and Gorgonzola salad is also beautiful. I tend to order it with goat cheese instead of Gorgonzola, but that's just my preference. It's still wonderful and sweet.

Roasted marinated olives

If you're just having a glass of wine (happy hour is just $5 a glass til 6 and watch for occasional $2 days), order the house marinated roasted olives with orange peel, fennel and red pepper flakes. Oh, yum. I've been known to just eat the olives while everyone else around ate burgers. I didn't feel deprived at all, they are that good.

The menu also has burgers, salads, fries and even fried pickles for the non-GF eaters in your group, which makes my husband very happy. I've been brave enough to eat the salad and olives only. Since I'm not a meat eater, that leaves few options in these trendy downtown eateries most of the time, luckily I'm a salad lover and finding a great salad I can go back to again and again is a great thing. Thank goodness 5th and Wine has created a salad and olives I'm in love with.

The wine list is superb and if you're not sure about what you want, just ask. They are knowledgeable and I haven't been steered wrong yet. I prefer a nice white wine blend with this salad and each time I get something a little different.

Of course, if it's an intimate conversation, take it outside if weather permits (which it does most of the year here in Phoenix). It can get quite noisy inside when it gets crowded. Walk the shops in the area and stop in for a glass of wine and a salad, you won't be disappointed.

(By the way, I'm not affiliated with the restaurant and receive nothing for this review. Just sayin')

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Living gluten free and vegetarian in Arizona isn't the easiest thing to do. But since I've been a vegetarian for over 25 years, I couldn't change that when I found out I was gluten intolerant about 7 years ago. It just made life more interesting.
AZ is the greatest place to live. I'll show you how to cook gluten free and vegetarian, and where to eat out safely. Always be careful when ordering out, you just never know unless you cook it yourself. We've all found out the hard way...